Rich Hofmann

DAILY NEWS SPORTS EDITOR

What a disaster. What an absolute disaster. This final score -- Bengals 13, Eagles 13 -- is more than a terrible result. It is the end. If you can find a way for the Eagles to get out of this mess now, you have better eyes than I do.

It wasn't supposed to be like this, of course. The Eagles were nearly double-digit favorites coming into this game against a Bengals team that had won only once all season. This was supposed to be the game where they played well and built momentum for their playoff push. This was the plan.

Instead, they came out and played a dreadful offensive first half. Quarterback Donovan McNabb was erratic and had four turnovers for the day, three interceptions and a fumble. There were a bunch of dropped balls, too. It was just a terrible offensive game in a huge spot -- long-yardage, short-yardage, the whole thing.

Watching it play out really did have a slow-motion, nine-car pileup look to it. For the longest time at the end, you never really thought the Eagles might win the game. The only question was if they would lose it. But with 7 seconds left, the Bengals' Shayne Graham missed a 47-yard field goal that would have won it, wide right. Oh, happy day.